The Day of Music is a free day of concerts hosted by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Some of the concerts are with the VSO, but many are with other groups.

Free Concerts at Vancouver’s Day of Music

In 2019 the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra marked the 100th anniversary of its first concert with the Day of Music, a series of free shows featuring hundreds of performers. The event was a big success and so it has continued as an annual event ever since.

Sadly, the 2020 Day of Music was cancelled due to the pandemic, and while there was an event in 2021, it was all online. Since 2022, however, the event has taken place on the first weekend of June. In 2024 it was on Saturday, June 1st.

Dozens of shows took place at multiple venues from 10:00 am until 10:00 pm this year. On top of concerts, there were also a series of both in-person and online workshops to check out.

One of the best parts of the Day of Music is that it’s entirely free! You can go see as many of the shows as you’d like for no charge and there isn’t any need to reserve tickets in advance. All of the performances are first-come, first-served in terms of seating.

The 2024 Day of Music

2024’s Day of Music was on June 1st. Free performances took place at eight different venues in Vancouver and Richmond. Below was what the schedule looked like for each location. Details in future years will likely be comparable.

VSO School of Music

The VSO School of Music building is located at 843 Seymour Street in Vancouver. This venue hosts the most shows including open rehearsals and workshops.

Pyatt Hall (in 2024)

10:15 am – Open Rehearsal with Concertante Youth String Ensemble
12:00 pm – 5 DOG EARS band
1:00 pm – The No Sweet Carolines
1:45 pm – Quartetto Vivo
2:30 pm – Pianist Joshua Kwan
3:15 pm – Noah Reitman Bass Recital with Leslie Dala on Piano
4:00 pm – VSO School of Music Singers present: “Once Upon a Time”
5:00 pm – Cellissimo
6:45 pm – Azalea Zheng Ensemble
7:45 pm – Shruti Laya Bhedam
8:45 pm – Mohamed Assani Trio

Willms Salon (in 2024)

10:30 am – Baroque Fairytales (Harpsichord and Baroque Violins)
11:30 am – The Meeks Duo
12:30 pm – Alderwood Ensemble: String Music Alive
1:30 pm – Guardia Nueva: Tango rhythms redefined
2:30 pm – Greg Samek: From the page…
3:30 pm – Azerbaijani Folk Music and more by Garmonist Asal Ahadi
4:30 pm – Michelle Kwan: Guzheng Live
5:30 pm – Raga Experience: A dynamic presentation of Sarod (fretless Indian Lute) by Dwaipayan Ray, Tabla by Hriday Buddhdev

Workshop Rooms (in 2024)

10:00 am – Instrument Play Zone: Orchestral Instruments
10:00 am – VSO SoM Mini Music Makers Mini-classes
12:00 pm – Instrument Play Zone: Traditional Chinese Instruments
12:30 pm – Kid’s Ukulele Mini Class
1:45 pm – Instrument Speed-Dating: Get to know the cello, percussion, and more!
2:45 pm – Nina Vu Replica(a)tion by Nina Vu
3:30 pm – Miles Black Student Jazz Combo
3:30 pm – Bella (Jie) Hong: Russian piano music
4:30 pm – Taraneh Mousavi

The Orpheum

The Orpheum Theatre is one of Vancouver’s most well-known music venues. It’s located at 601 Smithe Street. Below is what happened when and where.

Orpheum Stage (in 2024)

10:00 am – VSO Open Rehearsal
2:00 pm – St. James Music Academy
2:45 pm – Michael Dirk: Chaplin & Felix the Cat Go to Hollywood: The Mighty Wurlitzer (Organ)
3:30 pm – VSO SoM Big Band
4:30 pm – North Vancouver Honor Strings, Woodwinds, and VSO musicians
8:00 pm – Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Conductor Otto Tausk with special guests Sinfonietta and Yaming Zhu

Westcoast Energy Hall (in 2024)

11:45 am – Azalea Small Ensemble
12:45 pm – Roan Shankaruk
1:30 pm – Sunny She and Blythe Allers
2:15 pm – Teapot in the Tuba: The Garden (Accordion and Clarinet)
4:00 pm – Anna Pietrzak & Michael Kolk, South American Vibes
5:00 pm – Amir Eslami: Rumi Music Journey
6:00 pm – Michael Viens
7:15 pm – Orchid Ensemble

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is one of the most prominent places of worship in Vancouver. It’s located at 690 Burrard Street. Below is what you could see on June 1st in 2024.

10:30 am – St. Thomas More Collegiate Jazz “A”
11:30 am – Kitsilano Secondary School
12:30 pm – Pacific Chamber Music Academy
1:30 pm – Azalea Chinese Music Ensemble
2:30 pm – EnChor Choir in Concert

Bill Curtis Square

Bill Curtis Square is a public park in Yaletown at 1198 Mainland Street. There’s an outdoor stage set up for the day of performances. Below is what you could see on June 1st in 2024.

12:30 pm – The Lennox Wong-Chor And Seraphina Crema Black Quintet
2:00 pm – Will Clements Double Guitar Quartet, Jazz
3:30 pm – GO Taiko: Power of the Drums
5:00 pm – Royal Academy of Punjab: Dance Workshop
6:30 pm – MNGWA: Cosmic Cumbia Connection

Helmcken Plaza

Another park in Yaletown, Helmcken Plaza is located at 338 Helmcken Street. Below is what you could see in the plaza in 2024.

1:15 pm – Saxophilia Saxophone Quartet
2:45 pm – al Mozaico flamenco dance academy
4:15 pm – Yosakoi: Japanese traditional dance performance by APPARE Yosakoi Vancouver
5:45 pm – Cooking with Brass Street Party

TELUS Garden

The headquarters of the TELUS corporation, located at 510 West Georgia Street. Below is who you could see and when on June 1st in 2024.

12:00 pm – Patricia Faith Trio with Miles Black and Bob York
12:45 pm – The Melodious Trio
1:30 pm – Jack Campbell & Hank Bull
2:15 pm – Opera Lirica Society
3:00 pm – Music Friends: By the Stars’ Gentle Radiance
3:45 pm – Elaheh Naghavi

Deloitte Summit

Deloitte Summit is a uniquely designed high-rise office tower in downtown Vancouver. It’s located at 410 West Georgia Street. Below is what you could see on June 1st in 2024.

12:00 pm – Hot Moose Trio (Piano Trio), Yo Yo Duo (Cello Duo)
12:45 pm – Jocelyn Lai
1:30 pm – Michelle Jia Yun Xu
2:15 pm – Brian Sun
3:00 pm – Rachel Wei
3:45 pm – Estelle Copéry

YVR (at the Jade Canoe)

The lone shows outside of Vancouver took place at the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond. The venue is located at 3211 Grant McConachie Way. Below was the schedule of events for the Day of Music in 2024.

12:00 pm – Kathleen Isaza: Opera In Flight
12:45 pm – Pablo Romero
1:30 pm – Kathleen Isaza: Opera In Flight
2:15 pm – Pablo Romero
3:00 pm – Kathleen Isaza: Opera In Flight
3:45 pm – Pablo Romero

OTHER CONCERTS IN JUNE 2024

Other (unrelated) musical events in June include the following:

Youth Concert Showcase Series – the Fort Langley Jazz Festival hosts free live music on June 2nd (and other Sundays until July 14th) in Fort Langley.
United Voices Choir – the choir had a concert in Vancouver at Pacific Spirit United Church on June 1st and has another one at St. Paul’s Anglican Church on June 2nd.
Vancouver Oratorio Society – this concert happens at Burnaby’s Evangelical Chinese Bible Church on June 9th.
Chor Leoni Concert – the choir performs in the C/4: Canadian Choral Composition Competition at St. Andrew’s Wesley in Vancouver on June 14th.

About the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

The VSO is one of the biggest and most famous orchestras in the entire country. The orchestra has won both Grammy and JUNO Awards and, during normal years, performs hundreds of concerts. The main orchestra has up to around 80 members.

In addition to the Day of Music, the VSO runs other special events. They include Symphony in the Park, A Traditional Christmas, Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert and more.

To learn more about the organization, check out our article about the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.